Email: yanliu10@illinois.edu
Cohort: 2021
Research Interests
Anna’s research lies at the intersection of strategic communication, data and emerging data-driven technologies, consumer behavior, and media sociology.
She takes a behavioral approach to study data and data-driven technologies (algorithms and AI) in message design and media exposure for consumer empowerment and societal good. Specifically, she studies people鈥檚 perceptions and behaviors surrounding data and data-driven technologies, focusing on three key questions: (1) how to tell data stories in message design to persuade consumer pro-social behaviors and promote consumer protection, (2) how people understand algorithmic processes and strategically engage with them for media exposure and public visibility on digital platforms, and (3) how AI biases, and people鈥檚 understanding of these biases, shape the influence of AI-generated content on people鈥檚 perceptions and behaviors.
Anna employs a mixed-method approach, using computational methods (e.g., engagement metrics, sentiment analysis, topic modeling, computational visual analysis), traditional quantitative (e.g., experiment, survey, content analysis), and qualitative methods (e.g., interview, netnography) in her research.聽
Before joining ICR, Anna worked as a Senior Research Manager at Ipsos (Beijing Office), a global market research firm, where she gained 5 years of professional experience in marketing and consumer research.
Recent Publications/Presentations
Liu, A. Y., Ji, A. R., Taneja, H. & Nelson, M. R. (2025). Stakeholder-Desired Audiences: Fans鈥� Audience Data Imaginaries and How They Shape Industry Data Practices. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies.
Liu, A. Y., & Taneja, H. (2025). Visibility of K-pop in the US: Global Rankings, 鈥楢udience Mis-aggregation鈥�, and Mainstream Attention to Niche Genre. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies.
Liu, A. Y. (2025, Aug 7-10). Ephemeral Visibility and Externally Visible Production: How Algorithmic Automation Accelerates Fans鈥� Data Work. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, San Francisco, United States.
Liu, A. Y. (2025, Jun 12-16). Context Matters: Exploring Consumers鈥� Sense-Making of Online Ratings in the Social Context. International Communication Association (ICA) Annual Conference, Denver, United States.
Courses Taught
- ADV 284: Consumer Insight
- ADV 281: Advertising Research Method
- ADV 250: Advertising and Brand Strategy
- ADV 150: Introduction to Advertising
- MACS 100: Introduction to Popular TV & Movies
Awards and Honors
- James Webb Young Grad Research Award, Department of Advertising, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Bart A. Cummings Advertising Gift Fund (Research fund for dissertation), Department of Advertising, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Petullo Fellowship, Department of Advertising, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- MusicID 2024 Digital Research Fellowship
What Most People Don鈥檛 Know about Me
I like rock.